"America is a Christian nation."
"Atheism is a religion."
"Noah's Ark carved the Grand Canyon."

I've always heard other Atheists talk about religious folk say these things, but other than the odd video on YouTube or idiot on Facebook, I've never actually heard anyone say it, so I always discarded it as radical nonsense.

... Then last week I took a trip to rural Ohio. And when I picked my rental car up, it was already tuned to a Christian radio station.

And the first words I heard were "'In God we trust' is America's MOTTO! We need to take America back from the so called 'secular' satanists!"
So, I have to ask you guys; What percentage of the population seriously says and/or BELIEVES these things?

Remember this the next time somebody in media says: "We need restraint on both sides"
The one extremist side is becoming more strident, more hateful, more libelous, more hostile by the day. We're well into a new era of book-burning and apostate-beating.
The inability to cope with complexity, uncertainty and insecurity drives people to superstition and thence to extreme acts. The decline of every past civilization was accompanied just such mass behaviour. In this instance, there are also huge vested (power and money) interests that benefit from an irrational citizenry that can't recognize threats to its own welfare from the very people who offer bromides for its fear and scapegoats for its resentment. Scary times!

This one to me is mesmerizing! The reasons people give for it are usually:
1) Because the Declaration of Independence talks about "god" and the "creator".
2) Because the Constitution is founded on the Ten Commandments
3) Because the founding fathers were Christians.

I actually brought a family member close to a stroke with the 1st one. He actually went online to find the actual words of the DoI to read them to me! So all I said was "Ok, so where does it mention Jesus?" So many Christians are so blinded and biased by their faith that they can't even understand that a mention of god is not, not by a long shot, equivalent to the Christian god.
For the 2nd, ask the person to recite the 10 commandments for you. Usually they don't actually know them, which is hilarious to begin with, but they usually get a kick in the pants when they realize none of the 10 Commandments is in the Constitution, and that only the prohibition of murder, theft, and false witness are in the penal code.
Number 3 is just idiotic... it's like saying that because Steve Jobs is a Christian, then Apple is a Christian company...

English is not my first language. If you think I am being mean, ask me. It could be just a wording problem.

The very vast majourity of my family says and believes these things... @_@; These kinds of sayings are really normal for me, I hear them pretty much anywhere. We have people boycotting stores because they don't say "Merry Christmas", live Nativity scenes at the courthouse, and only a select few of the churches I've seen have preached "moderate" messages (every other one has been Bible-breathing fundy funtime).

I very strongly envy the ability to think that people don't say/believe these things... What's worse is I used to be one of them... Maybe the fact that I'm here today is a sign of hope, though?

It probably gets worse the more south and/or rural you get. I'm only in the suburbs of Kentucky, though. ...Of course, we do have the Creation Museum and that Noah's Ark... -_-

"It does feel like something to be wrong; it feels like being right." -Kathryn Schulz
I am 100% certain that I am wrong about something I am certain about right now. Because even if everything I stand for turns out to be completely true, I was still wrong about being wrong.

I recommend partition rather than civil war. Move all the believers to the bible belt and all the reasoners to the sin belt.
That will also protect the South from climate change, because they don't believe in it, and if the congregations are no longer contaminated by backsliders, they can pray the draught ans tornados away.

Quote:1) Because the Declaration of Independence talks about "god" and the "creator".

Yes, and what of it? I said "god damn it" the other day when I stubbed my toe, and I am an atheist.

No theistic deity exists, a universal god is the only one left in doubt.

Actually my answer was that the US government is based on the Constitution, not on the Declaration of Independence. This person insisted that the US government is based on all the important documents by the founding fathers, so I encouraged him to go read the Treaty of Tripoli then, by John Adams, which says, and I quote,

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion"

English is not my first language. If you think I am being mean, ask me. It could be just a wording problem.

Quote:1) Because the Declaration of Independence talks about "god" and the "creator".

Yes, and what of it? I said "god damn it" the other day when I stubbed my toe, and I am an atheist.

No theistic deity exists, a universal god is the only one left in doubt.

Actually my answer was that the US government is based on the Constitution, not on the Declaration of Independence. This person insisted that the US government is based on all the important documents by the founding fathers, so I encouraged him to go read the Treaty of Tripoli then, by John Adams, which says, and I quote,

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion"

My bad, I misread your post.
I thought you were advocating such ideas.

(21-09-2011 08:12 AM)Peterkin Wrote: I recommend partition rather than civil war. Move all the believers to the bible belt and all the reasoners to the sin belt.
That will also protect the South from climate change, because they don't believe in it, and if the congregations are no longer contaminated by backsliders, they can pray the draught ans tornados away.

That is cruel, I live in the south. I will have to move in with you if this happens.